Fukigen na Mononokean Episode 6 Review: The Ring

Yet another week has passed and we have a new episode of our youkai anime. This episode felt more like a filler rather than a developing step for the plot, but regardless it was a fun and enjoyable watch. This show definitely loves cliffhangers, since every single episode from the very beginning has ended on one.

Now then, it’s high time we talk about the episode itself. As I already mentioned above, the episode swayed away from the main plot of the series so we can find out more about Abeno’s past and Hanae’s possibly special bloodline. Just a reminder: both Abeno and Rippo started showing interest in Hanae after finding out his first name is Ashiya. I don’t know about you, but to me this smells like an introduction to some deep backstory.

Abeno and Hanae were doing their usual stuff, helping youkai with their job offers. However, this time the job they got was quite a peculiar one. They were asked by an eel-like youkai called Manjiro to look for the lost wedding ring of a human grandma. I won’t tell you how the ring was lost in case you haven’t seen the episode yet.

While looking for the ring Hanae announces that he has an extreme talent for finding little metallic stuff that are lost, such as rings, earrings, etc. Abeno is filled with disbelief towards this statement, but he is left speechless when Hanae actually finds the ring in about fifteen minutes. Doesn’t our little boy Hanae have the weirdest talents?

The best part of the episode was the actual meeting with the grandma whose ring was lost. Hanae wanted to somehow convey to her that they were told to find the ring by a youkai who has been next to the grandma for many years, since the youkai would disappear after they returned the ring. Our kind and softhearted boy Hanae wanted to somehow convey the feelings of the youkai. But of course, Abeno told him to forget it. Why? Well, because people don’t believe in youkai, or even if they do, they will get frightened or disgusted by the fact and this might cause grandma to refuse the ring. If she declined to take the ring then Manjiro’s last wish wouldn’t come true and he would have to pass to the underworld with regrets. Hanae understood this, but couldn’t get the idea out of his head. As a result, they decide to just put the ring in the mailbox for grandma to find.

After watching Fukigen na Mononokean for a while and after getting to know the characters, I assume it’s not hard to guess what happened next. First, it turned out that the grandma’s family used to have an unagi (eel) shop, which explains Manjiro’s form. Second, they got caught by grandma when trying to put the ring into the mailbox. And third, Hanae screwed up and started saying stuff he was supposed to shut up about. He said that there’s no good coming from those who can see youkai and do not talk about them. Abeno got caught in Hanae’s speech and told grandma that they were asked to return the ring to her by a man called Manjiro. Grandma was startled, and when Abeno was about to lose all hope she said that she will take the ring, and that Manjiro was the name of her late husband. At last, Manjiro’s existence was explained.

But suddenly, Abeno heard a voice that put him on guard. Interestingly enough, Hanae didn’t notice anything, maybe either because he was too caught up in the chit chat with the old lady or because it was something meant only for Abeno. At the very end we saw footsteps of an animal disappearing into nothingness. I will take a wild guess and say that whatever this was, it will be leading us straight to Abeno’s past.

I am going to end my review here. The episode was filled with nice jokes, but you should watch it and see them yourself!